If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Another French customer service experience
In a continuing series...
A little over a month ago I bought a pair of shoes from Minelli - a chain of shoe shops here in Frogland. After 4 weeks of occasional wear to take me from home to the RER station to work and back I noticed that the heels of both shoes were completely destroyed, with holes appearing where the thin rubber had been worn away. It's true that I am hard on shoes, but this is certainly the first time that they've disintegrated quite so rapidly. So I decided to return them to the shop. I though that there would be three possible scenarios: 1. The shop assistant would be very charming, appreciate the disappointment I'd experienced, and refund my money 2. The assistant would be a typical employee, not give a flying **** about me or my shoes, but would refund the money because it wasn't her money anyway, and she didn't give a flying **** about her employer either. 3. The assistant would be an unhelpful miserable sod who would argue the toss every step of the way. In fact it didn't take long for me to find out which was the scenario du jour. Her - Good morning Monsieur Me - Good morning Madame. I bought these shoes not long ago and as you can see the soles are completely worn out Her -What do you want me to do about it? Me -I'd like a refund, please Her -You've got to be ****ing joking. That's normal wear. Me -It's normal for shoes from this shop to be worn out after a month of wear? Her -Yes - it depends on the wearer Me -But this has never happened with any othe shoes Her -Well I'm going to send them to our technical department and they may decide to replace them but I doubt it. Come back in 2 weeks. etc etc etc I suppose I was expecting an unfriendly reception, but I was shocked by the aggressiveness and abusiveness that I actually received. Just for comparison, years ago I bought some shoes from Peter Lord in the UK. After wearing them for ages a split developed in the sole. They were replaced without question. The same thing eventually happened to the replacements and again they were replaced without question. So I will end with a plea for advice from our French readers, and other knowledgeable folk: what organisations exist to look after the rights of consumers in France, what recourse do I have, and where can I inform myself of my options (yes, Google ... :-) J; -- Encrypted e-mail address. Click to mail me: http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Jeremy Henderson wrote:
I suppose I was expecting an unfriendly reception, but I was shocked by the aggressiveness and abusiveness that I actually received. Just for comparison, years ago I bought some shoes from Peter Lord in the UK. After wearing them for ages a split developed in the sole. They were replaced without question. The same thing eventually happened to the replacements and again they were replaced without question. Remember that consumer protection rights are very strong in the UK. The retailer has an absolute legal responsibility to take complaints seriously, and not try and pass them off to the manufacturer. Having said that, these are rights under EC law, and I would have thought applied equally in France. I hope you pursued this complaint! |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
On 2004-10-30 17:17:01 +0200, said:
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 15:51:51 +0100, Mike O'Sullivan wrote: Jeremy Henderson wrote: I suppose I was expecting an unfriendly reception, but I was shocked by the aggressiveness and abusiveness that I actually received. Just for comparison, years ago I bought some shoes from Peter Lord in the UK. After wearing them for ages a split developed in the sole. They were replaced without question. The same thing eventually happened to the replacements and again they were replaced without question. Remember that consumer protection rights are very strong in the UK. The retailer has an absolute legal responsibility to take complaints seriously, and not try and pass them off to the manufacturer. Having said that, these are rights under EC law, and I would have thought applied equally in France. I hope you pursued this complaint! Consumer rights are supposed to be harmonised throughout the EU. Hmm ... surely you know that EU law doesn't apply in France, except in certain special cases :-) Now my problem is finding out who to complain to in order to exercise my rights ... ? J; -- Encrypted e-mail address. Click to mail me: http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"Jeremy Henderson" schreef in bericht ... In a continuing series... A little over a month ago I bought a pair of shoes from Minelli - What a whiner you are. You bought bad shoes. Take your loss and go on with your life. Sjoerd |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
On 2004-10-30 18:18:58 +0200, "Sjoerd" said:
"Jeremy Henderson" schreef in bericht ... In a continuing series... A little over a month ago I bought a pair of shoes from Minelli - What a whiner you are. You bought bad shoes. Take your loss and go on with your life. Yes, I did - but why should I take the loss? Is it "whining" to expect things you pay money for to fulfil their function? I sure wish I was a shopkeeper in your town "Here comes that fool Sjoerd. Let's rip him off again - he's too dumb to open his mouth to complain" J; -- Encrypted e-mail address. Click to mail me: http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
On 2004-10-30 18:18:58 +0200, "Sjoerd" said:
"Jeremy Henderson" schreef in bericht ... In a continuing series... A little over a month ago I bought a pair of shoes from Minelli - What a whiner you are. You bought bad shoes. Take your loss and go on with your life. Yes, I did - but why should I take the loss? Is it "whining" to expect things you pay money for to fulfil their function? I sure wish I was a shopkeeper in your town "Here comes that fool Sjoerd. Let's rip him off again - he's too dumb to open his mouth to complain" J; -- Encrypted e-mail address. Click to mail me: http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Jeremy Henderson writes:
A little over a month ago I bought a pair of shoes from Minelli - a chain of shoe shops here in Frogland. After 4 weeks of occasional wear to take me from home to the RER station to work and back I noticed that the heels of both shoes were completely destroyed, with holes appearing where the thin rubber had been worn away. Buy shoes with better heels. Cheap shoes (cheaply constructed, that is, which isn't necessarily correlated with price) can be worn out very easily in that period of time, if you walk a lot. It's true that I am hard on shoes, but this is certainly the first time that they've disintegrated quite so rapidly. Next time, buy better shoes. So I decided to return them to the shop. After four weeks? I suppose I was expecting an unfriendly reception, but I was shocked by the aggressiveness and abusiveness that I actually received. That's pretty typical for French shops. However, whatever her attitude, it's true that you shouldn't expect replacement or refund of shoes that you've been wearing for a month. The changes you describe correspond to wear and tear, not defective workmanship. Just for comparison, years ago I bought some shoes from Peter Lord in the UK. After wearing them for ages a split developed in the sole. They were replaced without question. Maybe Peter Lord makes better shoes, and the split was due to a defect. I've had shoes resoled after several years in Paris for free--French shoes sold at a French shop. I had been willing to pay for it, but I was not charged. However, these were very good shoes that were quite expensive. The same thing eventually happened to the replacements and again they were replaced without question. How many times does it have to happen before you switch to better shoes? How many times do you think a shoe store should replace shoes? Should it replace shoes simply because you wear them out, or only for defects in manufacturing? So I will end with a plea for advice from our French readers, and other knowledgeable folk: what organisations exist to look after the rights of consumers in France, what recourse do I have, and where can I inform myself of my options (yes, Google ... :-) It's impossible to give any advice without looking at the shoes in question, and knowing what you paid for them. I don't think the store owes you anything if you simply wore them out, no matter how quickly you did so. Unless there's a defect in manufacturing, it's up to you to buy replacements. -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Jeremy Henderson writes:
A little over a month ago I bought a pair of shoes from Minelli - a chain of shoe shops here in Frogland. After 4 weeks of occasional wear to take me from home to the RER station to work and back I noticed that the heels of both shoes were completely destroyed, with holes appearing where the thin rubber had been worn away. Buy shoes with better heels. Cheap shoes (cheaply constructed, that is, which isn't necessarily correlated with price) can be worn out very easily in that period of time, if you walk a lot. It's true that I am hard on shoes, but this is certainly the first time that they've disintegrated quite so rapidly. Next time, buy better shoes. So I decided to return them to the shop. After four weeks? I suppose I was expecting an unfriendly reception, but I was shocked by the aggressiveness and abusiveness that I actually received. That's pretty typical for French shops. However, whatever her attitude, it's true that you shouldn't expect replacement or refund of shoes that you've been wearing for a month. The changes you describe correspond to wear and tear, not defective workmanship. Just for comparison, years ago I bought some shoes from Peter Lord in the UK. After wearing them for ages a split developed in the sole. They were replaced without question. Maybe Peter Lord makes better shoes, and the split was due to a defect. I've had shoes resoled after several years in Paris for free--French shoes sold at a French shop. I had been willing to pay for it, but I was not charged. However, these were very good shoes that were quite expensive. The same thing eventually happened to the replacements and again they were replaced without question. How many times does it have to happen before you switch to better shoes? How many times do you think a shoe store should replace shoes? Should it replace shoes simply because you wear them out, or only for defects in manufacturing? So I will end with a plea for advice from our French readers, and other knowledgeable folk: what organisations exist to look after the rights of consumers in France, what recourse do I have, and where can I inform myself of my options (yes, Google ... :-) It's impossible to give any advice without looking at the shoes in question, and knowing what you paid for them. I don't think the store owes you anything if you simply wore them out, no matter how quickly you did so. Unless there's a defect in manufacturing, it's up to you to buy replacements. -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Jeremy Henderson writes:
Now my problem is finding out who to complain to in order to exercise my rights ... ? You don't have rights when it comes to normal wear and tear. -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Be our guest(s) in Paris and experience authentic French way of life ! | Seve and Dave | Europe | 0 | April 14th, 2004 09:54 AM |
French bombers 'suspend' campaign | Earl Evleth | Europe | 0 | March 25th, 2004 06:40 PM |
French Defend Their Approach to Terror Threats | Earl Evleth | Europe | 54 | January 3rd, 2004 01:50 AM |
I'm tired of the french bashing | nobody | Europe | 143 | December 31st, 2003 04:09 PM |
Booking Hotels Online (How to Avoid the Pitfalls) | Becca | Cruises | 6 | December 2nd, 2003 05:22 AM |